RIBBON QUILTED CLUTCH BAG

 

Ribbon quilting is a great way to give an unusual look to your clutch bag.  You can choose the ribbon colour tomatch a particular outfit or shoes for a very stylish look.

 

 

Cutting requirements

10″ by 15″ rectangle each of top fabric, wadding and lining fabric

buttons or beads to embellish

clear stud fastener

about 96″ of 1/4″ ribbon with thread to match

Making the bag

Lay the wadding down on the table, smooth gently and lay the lining fabric on top with right side up.  Smooth gently and lay the top fabric on top with right side down.  I used pink polka dot cotton fabric for the lining and white silk for the top fabric of the ribbon quilted clutch bag.

Fold the triple layer of fabric in half along the long edge, giving you a 5″ by 15″ rectangle and mark a curve across one corner using a plate or something similar.

 

Cut the corner to a smooth curve following the mark yu have just made.  Starting sewing 3″ from the corner of the straight edge of the rectangle (opposite the curve), sew all round the rectangle.  Sew slowly round the curve to keep it smooth and stop sewing 4″ from where you began.  This will leave a gap for you to turn the bag right side out.  Do this by pulling the bag through the gap.  Turn under a small seam across the gap and slipstitch to secure it.

 

Ribbon quilting the bag

Baste all round the edge so that the layers don’t slip against each other.  using a fabric marking pen and ruler, draw a line from one diagonal to the other and then at 1.1/2″ intervals either side of the first line.  Repeat with lines along the diagonal to make a cross hatch pattern.

 

 

Place the ribbon so that the end just overlaps the corner of the bag at one end of the first diagonal. Using a fairly wide and long stitch, zigzag the ribbon to the bag along the line.

Snip the end of the ribbon just beyond the end of the bag and begin again on the lines to either side of the first line.

 

 

You could stop there – the ribbon quilted bag looks quite attractive with ribbon in one direction only.

Beginning with the central diagonal in the opposite direction, sew ribbon to the bag in the same way.

 

 

Finishing the ribbon quilted clutch bag

Fold the bottom of the bag up about 4.1/2″ with wrong sides together and pin in place.  Still using the zigzag and the same colour thread, stitch as near the edge as you can up one side, round the curve and back down the other side.

Trim the ends of the ribbons to the zigzag line to avoid fraying.

 

 

The points where the ribbons cross each other are obvious places to put any embellishments.  I used four pearls to make a diamond shape on the front of the bag.

Sew a clear stud fastener to the underside of the flap of the bag and the front of the pouch of the bag, take care to line them up with each other so that the cross hatching matches from the flap to the bottom of the bag.  Your ribbon quilted bag is complete and ready for use.

Once I had tried ribbon quilting, I found it addictive and kept seeing places where I could add a bit of ribbon quilting.